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"And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42

THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR PRAYING TO MARY AND FOR CATHOLIC TEACHINGS ON MARY

By Brother Peter Dimond of Most Holy Family Monastery

The
Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. Contrary to the
claims of some, the Catholic Church does not teach and has never
taught that Mary is God. That would be heresy. Mary is just a
creature, but the greatest of all the human beings ever created by
God. Please look at this biblical evidence for the Catholic teachings
about Mary, and why it’s so necessary to understand her role
and importance.

To
understand the Bible and what it teaches about Mary (the mother of
Jesus Christ), one must understand Biblical types.

Type
= a true event, person or institution in the Old Testament which
foreshadows or prefigures something in the New Testament.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT ADAM, THE FIRST MAN, WAS A TYPE
OF JESUS CHRIST

Jesus
Christ was true God and true man. Adam was only a man, the first man.
However, the Bible says that Adam was a type of the one who was to
come, Jesus Christ.

Romans
5:14 “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression, who is the figure [type]
of him that was to come [Jesus].”

How
was Adam a type of Jesus? It’s perhaps best summed up in this
passage.

Romans
5:19 “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners,
so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Adam
plunged the world into sin; Christ came to redeem the world from
Adam’s sin. Adam sinned by his disobedience at the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil; Christ redeemed the world by His
obedience and sacrifice on the tree of the Cross. That’s why
the Bible says that Christ is the new or second or last Adam. He came
to undo what Adam did. He became the head of the new and redeemed
race of those who supernaturally live in Christ, whereas Adam, the
first man, was the head of humanity which fell into sin.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SECOND ADAM

1
Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, the first man Adam was
made a living soul; the last Adam
was made a quickening spirit.”

There
are many biblical types. Keep in mind that all of these events,
persons and things were real
events, persons and things which also prefigured something that would
come later. Here are a few examples:

1
Peter 3:19-21 – The Bible teaches that Noah’s Ark and the
Great Flood prefigured being saved by baptism and the Church.

1
Cor. 5:7 – The Bible teaches that the Passover Lamb, which was
sacrificed (Exodus 12), prefigured Christ, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Heb.
8:8-9 – The Bible teaches that the Old Testament system was a
“shadow” or figure of the New Testament.

Matthew
12:40 – The Bible teaches that Jonas’ three days and
nights in the belly of the whale prefigured Jesus Christ’s
Resurrection from the dead after three days.

Many
other examples of biblical types could be given. It’s important
to understand that the fulfillment of a type (called an “antitype”)
is greater than the type. Jesus Christ is infinitely greater than
Adam; the New Testament is greater than the Old; the Resurrection is
greater than the travails of Jonas; etc. With that in mind, we must
now consider types of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. There are
many types of Mary. In addition to other biblical evidence, these
types provide undeniable biblical proof
for Catholic teachings about Mary. The following points will
undoubtedly be new and surprising to many non-Catholics.

AS CHRIST IS THE NEW ADAM, MARY
IS THE NEW EVE

As
mentioned already, Adam was a type of Jesus Christ. There was a
distinct woman who was involved with Adam, the first man, in the
downfall of the world into sin. That was Eve, the first woman. It was
Adam’s transgression which constituted the original sin. But
Eve was instrumental and inextricably bound up with the events
leading up to the original sin. The woman (Eve) sinned and was the
occasion for Adam to sin.

Genesis
3:1-6 “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the
field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the
woman, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We
may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of
the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall
not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And
the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not
surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and
did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Just
as “the woman” (Eve) was intimately involved in the
events leading up to the original sin, there is a distinct woman who
was intimately involved in the events leading up to the Redemption.
That is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She is the new Eve.

There
are numerous clear parallels in the Bible between Eve and Mary. These
demonstrate that Mary is the new Eve, as Christ is the new Adam.

Genesis
3:4-6 “And the serpent said unto the
woman, ye shall not surely die… she
[Eve] took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat...”

Luke
1:26-38 “… the angel Gabriel
was sent from God into a city of Galilee… to a virgin…
and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said
unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is
with thee: blessed art thou among women… And the angel said to
her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou
shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou
shalt call his name Jesus… And Mary
said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to
thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

Eve
was approached by the serpent (the Devil), a fallen angel. Eve
believed his lying words and disobeyed God. Eve sinned and caused her
husband to sin, plunging the world into death.

Mary
was approached by Gabriel, a good angel. Mary believed his message of
salvation: that she was blessed among women, full of grace, and would
bring forth the Savior. Mary obeyed God. By her obedience, she
consented to the conception of Jesus Christ in her womb, and enabled
Him to come and redeem the world from Adam’s sin.

Even
in the very ancient Church, these biblical parallels were recognized
as identifications of Mary as the new Eve, just as Christ is the new
Adam. St. Irenaeus was a famous apostolic father from the second
century. He contrasts the first Eve with the second Eve (Mary).

St.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies,
Book III, Chap. 22, 185 A.D. “In accordance with this design,
Mary the Virgin is found obedient,
saying, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according
to your word (Luke 1:38). But Eve was
disobedient; for she did not obey when as yet
she was a virgin… And thus also it was
that the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of
Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this
did the virgin Mary set free through faith.”

EVE WAS THE MOTHER OF ALL THE LIVING –
MARY, AS MOTHER OF JESUS, IS THE MOTHER OF ALL THE LIVING AND EVEN OF LIFE ITSELF

Genesis
3:20 “And Adam called his wife's name
Eve; because she was the mother of all the living.”

Eve
was called the “mother of all the living” because all who
had life descended from her. Mary is also the mother of all the
living, but indeed in a greater way. Mary is the mother of Jesus
Christ, who is Life itself and in whom all life is to be found.

John
1:4 “In him [Jesus] was life; and the life was the light of
men.”

Matthew
1:16 “Mary, of whom was born Jesus…”

John
14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Jesus
is the Life. Mary is, therefore, literally the mother of Life itself.
The parallel to Eve, the mother of all the living, is clear. The
difference is that Mary is the mother of a Life that is infinitely
greater than human existence. Those who live and die in her Son have
access to eternal life in Him and become new creatures.

2
Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature.”

The
fulfillment (Mary as mother of all the living) is again greater than
the type (Eve as mother of all the living).

EVE WAS CREATED WITHOUT ANY SIN –
THE NEW EVE, MARY, ALSO HAD TO BE CREATED WITHOUT ANY SIN (IMMACULATELY CONCEIVED)

We’ve
seen that the Bible indicates that Mary is the new Eve. So the
question is: in what state was the soul of Eve
created? Eve was created in Genesis 2 free from all sin. The entire
creation was perfect until the fall of mankind.
Adam and Eve were both created in a state of original justice. They
didn’t lose that state of original perfection, in which they
were free from all sin, until the original sin in Genesis 3.

If
God created the first woman (the first Eve) without any sin, then He
could certainly create the second (and greater) Eve (the Blessed
Virgin Mary) without any sin. That’s exactly what He did. He
had to do so as a matter of proportion and justice because she would
be the first member of the redeemed humanity.

DEFINITION OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Pope
Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus,
Dec. 8, 1854 “We declare, pronounce, and define that the
doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first
instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted
by Almighty God, in view of the merits of
Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from
all stain of original sin, is a doctrine
revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by
all the faithful.”

Some
mistakenly think that the Immaculate Conception refers to the
miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary. That’s
not correct. Jesus was indeed conceived without any sin in the womb
of Mary, but the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of
Mary in the womb of her mother. From the very first instant of her
creation, she was preserved from any stain of original sin, which
every other member of the human race (except Jesus) inherits.

God
preserved her without sin in view of the saving merits of Jesus
Christ. It was done for Mary because she had to be the uncursed and
pure vessel which would carry the all-holy God. In order to carry
infinite holiness, Mary had to be holy from the first instant of her
creation.

JESUS SAVED MARY IN A GREATER WAY

So,
if Mary was preserved from the stain of the original sin, does that
mean that she didn’t have a Savior? No. Mary answers that
herself.

God
saved Mary by preventing her from contracting original sin. Suppose
that a man falls into a deep hole in the forest, but is pulled out by
his friend. It is true to say that the friend saved the man. Now
suppose a man sees a woman walking toward the deep hole, and catches
her just before she falls in. He stops her from falling into the hole
in the first place, so that she doesn’t get injured or dirty at
all. Did he save the woman? Certainly he did. He saved her in a
greater way, by preventing her from falling into the hole and
suffering any of the harmful consequences.

That’s
how God saved Mary. Jesus was her Savior in an even greater way, by
preventing her from ever contracting original sin, and by preserving
her from sin throughout her life. He did this for Mary, in view of
her unique role. The sinlessness of Mary is indicated by numerous
types in the Bible.

Some
express disbelief at the notion that God would create someone
completely free from sin. They are forgetting that God created the
first man and woman without sin.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT

We
will now see that the Bible without any doubt identifies Mary as the
Ark of the New Testament. It identifies Mary as the New Testament
counterpart to the Ark of the Old Testament. Mary is the new and
greater fulfillment of what was prefigured by the Ark of the Old
Testament. This information is some of the most important and
revealing about Mary’s profound role.

Since
it carried and represented the presence of God, the
Ark of the Old Covenant/Testament was the holiest and most powerful
thing on Earth outside of God Himself. The
Ark of the Covenant was a sacred chest which contained the stone
tablets of the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 10:5). The Ark also
carried and represented the spiritual presence of God on Earth. When
God spoke to Moses, it was from between the two cherubim which were
on the Ark.

Numbers
7:89 “And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to
speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above
the mercy seat that was upon the ark
of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to
him.”

Exodus
25:21-22 “And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark;
and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony
that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the
mercy seat, from between the two cherubim
which are upon the ark of the testimony, of
all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of
Israel.”

Let’s
now look at how the Bible identifies Mary as the Ark of the New
Covenant.

The Ark
of the Old Covenant

The
Virgin Mary

Contained the
written word of God (Deut. 10:5)

Contained the Word
of God made flesh, Jesus (Jn. 1:1)

Jesus
Christ is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:1). So, just as the Ark
of the Old Covenant contained the written word of God, Mary (who is
the Ark of the New Covenant) contained the Word of God made flesh.

Apocalypse
(Revelation) 19:13 “And he [Jesus] was clothed with a garment
sprinkled with blood; and his name is called,
the Word of God.”

The Ark
of the Old Covenant

The
Virgin Mary

Was “overshadowed”
by the power and presence of God (Exodus 40:34-35)

Was “overshadowed”
by the power and presence of the Most High (Luke 1:35)

The
tabernacle was constructed to contain the holy Ark (Exodus 40:2-3).
When God would come down upon the tabernacle and the Ark to speak to
Moses, we read in Exodus 40:34-35 that God’s glory cloud or
visible presence (called the “Shekinah”) “overshadowed”
it. The rare word which is used to describe how this unique presence
of God would “overshadow” the Ark is episkiasei
in the Greek translation of the Old Testament.

Exodus
40:34-35 “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to
enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud overshadowed
it, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle.”

The
very same word “episkiasei” is used in the Greek of the
New Testament to describe how the presence of God will “overshadow”
the Virgin Mary. The Bible uses this language only about the Ark and
about Mary.

Luke
1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shallovershadowthee: therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God.”

The
clear implication is that the presence of God overshadows Mary and
comes down upon her – since she is the New Ark – just as
it overshadowed the Ark of the Old Covenant. This reveals that Mary,
while just a creature and infinitely less than God, is the new Ark.
She thus has a unique connection to God, a unique holiness,
sanctification and power.

THE AMAZING EVIDENCE FROM 2 SAMUEL 6 AND LUKE 1 THAT MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT

Consider
the amazing parallels that Scripture gives us between what happened
to the Ark of the Old Covenant in 2 Samuel 6 (2 Kings 6 in the
Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible), and what happened to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, in chapter 1 of Luke’s
Gospel. 2 Samuel 6 is the most complete story in the Bible concerning
the Ark of the Old Covenant. Luke 1 is the most complete story in the
Bible concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Ark
of the Old Covenant

The
Virgin Mary

2 Samuel 6:9 “David
feared the Lord that day and said, How can
the ark of the Lord come to me?”

Luke 1:43
“[Elizabeth said]: And how does this happen to me, that
the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

David
says: “How shall the Ark of the Lord come to me?” while
Elizabeth asks how is it “that the mother of my Lord should
come to me?” Elizabeth says the same thing to Mary that David
said about the Ark because Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. The
only difference between the two statements is literally that “mother”
is used where Ark was used. The Bible is telling us that the
mother of the Lord = the Ark. This is
confirmed without any doubt as we carry the story further.

David
Leapt Before the Ark

The
Infant Leapt in the presence of Mary

2 Samuel 6:16 “As
the ark of the Lord was entering the City
of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked
down through the window and saw King David
leaping and dancing before the Lord…”

Luke 1:41-44 “And
it came to pass, that, when Elizabeth
heard the salutation of Mary, the babe
leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was
filled with the Holy Ghost… For at the moment the sound of
your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped
for joy.”

David
leapt before the Ark, just as the infant in Elizabeth’s womb
leapt before Mary (the new Ark).

The Ark
stayed for three months

Mary
(the Ark) stayed for three months

2 Samuel 6:11 “The
ark of the Lord remained in the house of
Obededom the Gittite for three months,
and the Lord blessed
Obededom and his whole house.”

Luke 1:56-57 “Mary
remained with her about three months and
then returned to her home. Now Elizabeth's full time of being
delivered was come, and she brought forth
a son.”

In
2 Samuel 6, we read that the Ark stayed with Obededom the Gittite for
three months. Likewise, in Luke 1, we read that Mary (the Ark of the
New Covenant) stayed with Elizabeth for three months.

2
Samuel 6:11 also mentions that the Lord blessed Obededom and his
house while the Ark was present. “Blessing” in Scripture
frequently indicates fruitful offspring. In this fact we see another
parallel to Luke 1 and Mary. For Luke 1:57 tells us that after Mary
stayed with Elizabeth, the Lord blessed her and her house with the
birth of a child, John the Baptist.

David
set out to fetch the Ark from Judah

This
occurred when Mary (the Ark) went to Judah

2 Samuel 6:2 “Then
David and all the people who were with him set
out for Baala of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God,
which bears the name of the Lord of hosts enthroned above the
cherubim.”

Luke 1:39-40 “During
those days Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste to
a town of Judah, where she entered the
house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.”

As
we read here, these incredible parallels occurred when David set out
for the hill country of Judah to fetch the Ark (2 Samuel 6:2), and
when Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, went to the hill country of
Judah (Luke 1:39).

The
Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) also indicates that Mary is the
Ark of the New Covenant

Revelation 11:19,
12:1 “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there
was seen in his temple the ark of his testament:
and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an
earthquake, and great hail. [12:1] Andthere appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars.”

The
Bible was not written with any chapters or verses indicated. It
wasn’t until the 12th century that the Bible was divided into
chapters and verses. Therefore, the author of Revelation, St. John
the Apostle, wrote what begins chapter 12 in one continuous stream
immediately after what ends chapter 11. At the end of chapter 11, we
read that the Ark of Jesus’ testament/covenant was seen in
Heaven. The very next verse is Revelation 12:1. Therefore, the words
which end chapter 11 flow immediately into the words which begin
chapter 12, without any division.

That
means that the appearance of the Ark of Jesus’ covenant at the
very end of chapter 11 – “the ark of his testament was
seen in his temple” (Rev. 11:19) – is immediately
explained by the vision of “the woman”
clothed with the sun which begins chapter twelve, the very next verse
(Rev. 12:1). This indicates that “the woman” clothed with
the sun, who bore the Divine Person in her womb (the Virgin Mary), is
the Ark of the New Testament.

The Ark
contained the manna from the desert

Mary
contained the manna from Heaven, Jesus

Hebrews 9:4 “…
the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein
was the golden pot that had manna, and
Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.”

John 6:48-51 “I
am that bread of life. Your fathers did
eat manna in the wilderness, and are
dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man
may eat thereof, and not die. I am the
living bread which came down from heaven…
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for
the life of the world.”

There
can be no doubt that the manna in the desert (Exodus 16) prefigured
Jesus as the Bread of Life. Jesus makes a connection between the two
in John chapter 6. He makes reference to the manna in the desert, and
then says that His flesh is the true manna from Heaven. Well, the
manna from the desert was placed inside the
Ark of the Old Covenant. That prefigures
Jesus Christ Himself (the true manna of the New Testament) being
contained within Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

In
Hebrews 9:4, we also see that the rod of Aaron
was placed within the Ark of the Old
Covenant. In Numbers 17, we read that this rod budded to prove the
true high-priest. The rod of Aaron thus signified the true
high-priest. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the true
high-priest.

Also
see Hebrews 6:20, Hebrews 9:11, and other passages for more proof
that Jesus is the true high-priest. The inescapable conclusion is
that Aaron’s rod being placed within the Ark prefigured Jesus
Christ, the true high-priest, being contained within Mary (the Ark of
the New Covenant).

There
is absolutely no doubt that the New Testament indicates that Mary is
the Ark of the New Covenant. This evidence is
undeniable.

SINCE MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT, THAT MEANS THAT SHE IS THE MOST SACRED THING ON EARTH OUTSIDE OF JESUS CHRIST

The
Ark of the Covenant was the holiest thing on Earth outside of the
presence of God Himself. The Ark was contained in the tabernacle,
within the holy of holies. The Ark’s presence is what made the
holy of holies so sacred.

2
Chronicles (or 2 Paralipomenon) 35:3 “Put
the holy ark in the house which Solomon the
son of David king of Israel did build.”

The
Ark was so holy that when the people of God followed it they had to
keep a respectful distance.

Josue
3:3-5 “When you shall see the ark of the
covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the race of Levi
carrying it, rise you up also, and follow them as they go before:
And let there be between you and the ark the space of two thousand
cubits: that you may see it afar off, and know which way you must go:
for you have not gone this way before: and
take care you come not near the ark.”

People
who unlawfully touched the Ark were killed.

2
Samuel 6:6-7 “Oza put forth his hand to
the ark of God, and took hold of it: because
the oxen kicked and made it lean aside. And the indignation of
the Lord was enkindled against Oza, and he struck him for his
rashness: and he died there before the ark of
God.”

The
men of Bethshemesh were killed because they had dared to look into
the Ark.

1
Samuel 6:19 “And he smote the men of
Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord,
even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten
men...”

We
see how sacred God considered the object which was to come into close
contact with His spiritual presence.

SINCE MARY IS THE NEW ARK, SHE HAD TO BE HOLY AND CREATED WITHOUT SIN

God
gave the most precise specifications for the construction of the Ark.
He ordered that it be made with the most pure gold.

Exodus
25:10-13,24 “And they shall make an ark
of setim wood: two cubits and a half shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a
cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou
shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and
without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold
round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put
them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one
side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt
make staves of setim wood, and overlay them
with gold…”

It’s
interesting that the Ark not only had to be overlaid with gold all
around, but there is a specific reference to it having a “crown
of gold round about.”

The Ark
of the Old Covenant had a gold crown

The
Virgin Mary (the New Ark) also has a crown

Exodus 25:11 “And
thou… shalt make upon it a crown of
gold round about.”

Apocalypse 12:1 “And
there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown
of twelve stars.”

The
Ark of the Old Covenant had to be perfect and holy because it was the
seat of God’s unique spiritual presence. God’s holiness
could not be tarnished by contact with that which had defects.
Likewise and to a greater degree, the Virgin Mary, as the new Ark and
bearer of Jesus Christ, had to be created without sin and in a state
of perfection.

She
did not merely contain the spiritual presence of God, but Jesus
Christ (God Himself). She did not merely contain the written word of
God, but the Word of God made flesh (John 1:1). Consequently, Mary
must be perfect. She must be free from all sin. She must be an
ever-virgin and untouched by man.

If
the Ark of the Old Covenant, which contained the written tables of
the Law and was overshadowed by the spiritual presence of God, had to
be overlaid with the most pure gold and had to be constructed
according to the most precise specifications of God, how much greater
is God’s construction of Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant? The
fulfillment is greater than the type. Mary, the Ark of the New
Covenant, must be and is greater than the Ark of the Old Covenant.

Just
like the Ark of the Old Covenant, Mary must also have tremendous
power over the Devil and God’s enemies. She must have a unique
power of intercession with God, in bringing down His blessings and in
aiding the people of God, just as the Ark of the Old Covenant did.

JUST LIKE THE ARK OF THE OLD COVENANT, MARY HAS A UNIQUE POWER OF INTERCESSION; SHE HAS AWESOME POWER OVER GOD’S ENEMIES, OVER THE DEVIL AND IN AIDING THE PEOPLE OF GOD

The
Ark of the Old Covenant had awe-striking power. When it was taken by
the Philistines, extraordinary things happened to them and to their
false god, Dagon.

1
Samuel 5:1-5 “And the Philistines took the ark of God, and
carried it from the Stone of help into Azotus. And the Philistines
took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set
it by Dagon. And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold
Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord:
and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place. And the next day
again, when they rose in the morning, they
found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the
Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands were cut
off upon the threshold: And only the stump of
Dagon remained in its place. For this cause neither the priests of
Dagon, nor any that go into the temple tread on the threshold of
Dagon in Azotus unto this day.”

The
Philistines began to be destroyed for having taken the Ark. This
prompted them to return the Ark to their enemies, the Israelites.

1
Samuel 5:7 “And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague,
said: The ark of the God of Israel shall not
stay with us: for his hand is heavy upon us,
and upon Dagon our god.”

The
Ark struck mortal terror into the face of God’s enemies.

1
Samuel 5:10 “And when the ark of God was come into Accaron, the
Accaronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God
of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.”

The
waters of the Jordan were miraculously dried up by the Ark.

Josue
3:13-14 “[And the Lord said to Josue]: And when the priests,
that carry the ark of the Lord the God of the whole earth, shall set
the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that
are beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from
above, shall stand together upon a heap. So the people went out of
their tents, to pass over the Jordan: and the priests that carried
the ark of the covenant went on before them...”

Mary,
the New Ark, has this power and even more; for the fulfillment is
greater than the type, and the New Testament is greater than the Old.
We must now cover more biblical evidence for Catholic teachings on
Mary.

THE EARTH FROM WHICH ADAM WAS CREATED IS A TYPE OF MARY AND HER PRESERVATION FROM SIN (HER IMMACULATE CONCEPTION)

We’ve
established that Jesus Christ is the new Adam. Adam was formed from
the Earth or ground.

Genesis
2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground[adamah],
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.”

The
Hebrew word for “ground” is Adamah.
It’s a feminine noun. Adam is so named because he came from the
Adamah; his name means
son of the ground, son of the Adamah.
(This point was made by Gerry Matatics, Biblical Foundations
International, Dunmore, PA.)

This
point could be developed, but it’s clear that, on a certain
level, the Earth from which Adam was created is a type of Mary. The
first Adam was created by God from the ground,
and the second Adam (Jesus Christ) took flesh from
Mary, His mother. So the
question is: what was the state of the Earth
when it was created?

Genesis 1:31 “AndGod saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

The
Earth from which the first Adam was formed – and indeed the
entirety of God’s creation before the fall – was
completely uncursed, unfallen and perfect.
Sin and curse had no place in it.

Mary,
who gives birth to the second and greater Adam (Jesus Christ), must
likewise be completely uncursed, unfallen and perfect. She must be
preserved from all stain of sin and from the curse of original sin.
That’s called the Immaculate Conception.

ONLY MARY AND HER SINLESSNESS COMPLETELY FULFILL WHAT IS PREDICTED IN GENESIS 3:15 – “I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN THEE [THE SERPENT] AND THE WOMAN…”

Shortly
after the fall of Adam and Eve, God makes this prophecy.

Genesis
3:14-15 “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou
hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every
beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou
eat all the days of thy life: And I will
put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed;
she shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”2

God
says that there will be enmity – hostility, division,
opposition – between the Devil and “the woman.” In
the same context we read of the seed of the woman, and the victory
which will be granted through the woman and her seed. In the Bible, a
man’s children and descendants are spoken of as his seed. The
seed of the woman, therefore, is something unique. It refers to a
child which is produced by a woman alone. This obviously refers to
the virginal conception and birth from the womb of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, Jesus’ mother. The “seed” of the woman refers
to Jesus Christ.

Therefore,
the woman herein identified as having
opposition or enmity with the serpent is clearly Mary, the mother of
Jesus Christ. The woman is not Eve, who gave
in to the serpent. It is Mary.

God
says that He will put enmity or opposition between the serpent and
the woman. As a result, Mary must be completely preserved from sin.
For when one sins, one does not have opposition to the Devil, but
rather gives in to the Devil. The only way the woman could have
complete and definitive opposition to the serpent is by preservation
from sin and from the sin of Adam.

The
fact that Mary is this “woman,” and therefore completely
free from the domination of sin and the Devil, is the reason that
Jesus calls Mary “woman” throughout the New Testament.
Jesus never calls His mother anything but “woman.” Many
non-Catholics think this was Jesus’ way of belittling His
mother and downplaying her role; on the contrary, Jesus
was identifying Mary as the “woman” of Genesis 3:15.

Genesis
3:15 “And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; she shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for
her heel.”

John
2:3-5 “And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him:
They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her:
Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My
hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he
shall say to you, do ye.”

Some
superficial readings of John 2:3-5 have left people with the
impression that Jesus is rebuking His mother at the wedding of Cana.
However, it actually reveals the power of Mary’s intercession
with Jesus. Jesus said that His hour had not yet come; in other
words, it was not yet the time for Him to reveal His miraculous
powers. It was His design to wait longer. Nevertheless, at the urging
of His mother, who had compassion on the newly married couple, Jesus
worked the miracle anyway. He worked this (His
first) miracle at the urging of His mother, even though His hour “had
not yet come.” This is an excellent
example of how graces are obtained from Jesus through Mary –
graces which He might not otherwise be inclined to give.

Many
non-Catholics also object that if Mary is so crucial, why would Jesus
allow the Gospel writers to perhaps give the impression that He was
belittling the place of His mother? They contend that certain verses
give that impression, or don’t do much to dispel that notion.
The answer is that God does not cast pearls before swine (Matthew
7:6). He often slightly conceals His truths, or puts them just under
the surface, so that superficial efforts or insincere people will
pass over them or be left with the wrong impression. However, those
who are more patient and dig deeper – or who simply trust the
Church which Jesus established – will find the gem and the true
meaning.

Luke
8:8-10 “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his
disciples asked him what this parable might be. To whom he said: To
you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God;but to the rest in parables, that seeing
they may not see, and hearing may not understand.”

This
is so very true in the case of the Bible’s teaching on Mary’s
profound role. Superficial readings and insincere efforts will keep
people blind to it. But it’s there in Scripture. Mary is the
new Eve and the woman of Genesis 3:15, as we have seen. She is also
the Ark of the New Covenant and much more, as we will see. It’s
all there in the biblical typology and in many passages more deeply
understood; but so many remain oblivious to it. Seeing they see not,
and hearing they hear not. Having failed to trust the one Church
which Christ established, they have sadly acquired only a shallow and
misguided understanding of the Bible’s teaching.

John
19:26 “When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the
disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman,
behold thy son. After that, he saith to the
disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that
hour, the disciple [John] took her to his own.”

Though
other women were at the foot of the cross, Jesus singles out His
mother. Jesus again calls her nothing other than “woman”
because she is the woman of Genesis 3:15: the one in complete
opposition to the serpent. Jesus also calls for St. John to take His
mother for his own.

MARY’S SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD, AND THE ALMIGHTY HATH DONE GREAT THINGS TO HER

In
Luke 1, we see a glimpse of the unique privileges that God has
bestowed upon Mary.

Luke
1:46-50 “And Mary said: My soul doth
magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his
handmaid; for behold from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. Because he
that is mighty, hath done great things to
me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is
from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.”

The
Bible says that Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord; it doesn’t
diminish Him. Mary doesn’t detract from Jesus, but leads people
to Jesus. The Ark of the Old Covenant signified God’s power and
presence. When it was in their presence, it stirred them to devotion,
to confidence, and to love of the Almighty. In a similar, but yet
greater way, Mary, the new Ark, directs and centers us powerfully
around Jesus Christ. Everything Mary has and everything Mary is comes
from being the mother of Jesus Christ. He did great things to her by
preserving her from sin.

One
should also make a special note of Luke 1:48, in which Mary
prophesies that “all generations shall call” her
“blessed.” This is a prophecy about the Catholic prayer
the Hail Mary. For generations Catholics have prayed: “Hail
Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed
art thou among women, and blessed is the
fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us
sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT MARY IS “FULL OF GRACE,” WHICH MEANS WITHOUT SIN

Luke
1:27-31 “… and the virgin's name was Mary. And
the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought within
herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said
to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found
grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name
Jesus.”

Modern
Protestant Bibles do not translate Luke 1:28 as “Hail, full of
grace.” They have: “Rejoice highly
favored daughter” or something similar.
The Protestant translations are wrong. There are a number of simple
ways to show that they are wrong. The word in the original Greek is
kecharitomene. This
word is directly concerned with the idea of “grace.”
Greek scholars point out that kecharitomene
comes from the root word charis,
which has a literal meaning of “grace.” Out of about 150
appearances, the King James (a Protestant Bible) translates charis
as “grace” 129 times.

It’s
also extremely important to note that early Protestant translations
had Luke 1:28 as “full of grace” or the equivalent.
Famous Protestant William Tyndale (1494-1536) is considered to be a
hero among some Protestants. His version of the Bible was translated
into early modern English around 1525. Tyndale translated
Luke 1:28 as: “Hayle full of grace ye
Lorde is with ye: blessed arte thou amonge wemen.”
(http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/tyndale/) The English
Protestant Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) also rendered the passage as
“full of grace.”

St.
Jerome (A.D. 347-420) was the biblical scholar of the ancient Church.
Even the Protestant translators of the 1611 King James Bible called
St. Jerome “a most learned father, and the best linguist
without controversy, of his age, or of any that went before him”
(From the Translators’ Preface to the 1611 KJV). St. Jerome
translated “kecharitomene” as “gratiae plena”
meaning “full of grace
which thou hast received” in the Latin Vulgate. “Grace”
was also accepted as the proper translation in the Rheims New
Testament in 1582.

The
Word Pictures of the New Testament,
by the famous Protestant Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, says this
about Luke 1:28:

“Highly
favoured (kecaritwmenh). Perfect passive participle of caritow and
means endowed with grace (cariß), enriched with grace as in
Ephesians 1:6… The Vulgate gratiae
plena is right, if it means ‘full of grace which thou hast
received’; wrong, if it means ‘full
of grace which thou hast to bestow.’” (Robertson, Word
Pictures of the New Testament, Luke 1:28.)

If
Mary is “full of grace,” that in itself strongly suggests
that she is without sin. For grace is in opposition to sin. The angel
is not saying that Mary will become full of grace, but that he has
encountered Mary already in that state. She was conceived in that
state. Moreover, Mary is pronounced “blessed among women”
because her position is unique.

MARY WAS A PERPETUAL VIRGIN

We’ve
seen that Mary is the new Eve and the Ark of the New Covenant. Now we
must look at the biblical evidence for Mary’s perpetual
virginity. Most Protestants of our day reject the perpetual virginity
of Mary; they think it contradicts the Bible. Many
of them will be shocked to find out that the first Protestants,
including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and others all
believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary.
The idea that Mary ceased to be a virgin and had other children
besides Jesus was invented many generations after the original
Protestant “reformation.” Thus, the Protestant position
on this matter not only contradicts ancient Catholic tradition and
the Bible (as we will see), but their own Protestant “tradition.”

MATTHEW 1:25 DOES NOT DISPROVE MARY’S PERPETUAL VIRGINITY

The
first thing that Protestants usually quote against Mary’s
perpetual virginity is Matthew 1:25.

Matthew
1:24-25 “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel
of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And
knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he
called his name Jesus.”

According
to Protestants, this proves that Mary ceased to be a virgin after the
birth of Jesus. This is quite wrong. The Greek word for “until”
or “till” (heos)
does not imply that Joseph had marital relations with Mary after the
birth of Jesus Christ. It simply means that they had no relations up
to that point, without saying anything about what happened after that
point. This is proven below by many passages. We should also bear in
mind that the Bible was written several thousand years ago. It was
written at a time and in languages which don’t express and
imply things the same way that they would be expressed and implied in
modern English.

For
instance, in 2 Samuel 6:23 (2 Kings 6:23 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic
Bible), we read that God cursed Michal, David’s wife. He cursed
her because she mocked David for the manner in which he rejoiced
before the Ark of the Covenant. As a result, Michal had no children
“until” the day of her death.

2
Samuel 6:23 “Therefore Michal
the daughter of Saul had no child until the
day of her death.”

Does
this mean that Michal started having children after her death?
Obviously it does not. This verse demonstrates that
when Scripture describes something as being true “until”
or “before” a certain point,it
doesn’t necessarily mean that it ceased to be true after that
point. Here are numerous other examples
of this:

Hebrews
1:13 “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit
on my right hand, until I make thine
enemies thy footstool?”

This
refers to the Son of God. Does this mean that He will cease to sit at
the right hand of the Father after God’s enemies are made His
footstool? Obviously it does not. He will remain at the right hand of
God the Father.

Does
this mean that they should abandon reading and doctrine after he
comes? Obviously it does not.

Acts
23:1 “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and
brethren, I have lived in all good conscience
before God untilthis day.”

Does
this mean that Paul necessarily ceased to have a good conscience
after that day? Obviously it does not.

The
preposition “before” can be used the same way.

John
4:49 “Come down before
my child dies.”

Here
we see that the word “before” can be used in a similar
manner to the word “until.” This child did not die; Jesus
healed him (John 4:50). Thus, the statement in Matthew 1:18, which is
quoted below, that Mary was with child “before” she and
Joseph came together, doesn’t mean that they came together
after she was with child. It simply means that she was pregnant
without any sexual contact.

Matthew
1:18 “Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as
his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before
they came together, she was found with child,
of the Holy Ghost.”

It’s
quite certain, therefore, that Matthew 1:25 and Matthew 1:18 do not
contradict Mary’s perpetual virginity in any way. Protestants
cannot legitimately claim that these passages constitute proof that
Mary ceased to be a virgin. These passages do not prove her perpetual
virginity, either. Her perpetual virginity is proven by other things
in the Bible.

WHAT ABOUT THE “FIRSTBORN” SON – DOESN’T THAT IMPLY OTHER CHILDREN?

Luke
2:7 “And she brought forth her firstborn
son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Matthew
1:25 “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name Jesus.”

“Firstborn
son” is a legal title given to a first-born male child in a
Jewish family: in other words, it is given to a male child who is
also the first child.

God
specifically commanded the Israelites to sanctify (i.e., set apart)
their first-born sons for a special consecration and service to God.
The title “first-born son” held additional importance
because it entitled that child to a double portion of the inheritance
(Deut. 21:17). This title of “first-born
son” was given to the child regardless of whether the woman had
any other children after him. As an example:
“we can see this from a Greek tomb inscription at Tel el
Yaoudieh (cf. “Biblica” 11, 1930 369-90) for a mother who
died in childbirth: ‘In the pain of delivering my firstborn
child, destiny brought me to the end of life.’” (Quoted
in “Brothers and Sisters of Jesus,” by William Most)

In
Exodus 13 and 34, we read about God’s prescription that the
first-born be consecrated to Him. There was a ceremony for the
“sanctification of the firstborn” (Exodus 13 and 34:20).
It’s not as if they postponed the ceremony for the “first-born
son” until after the woman had a second child.

Exodus
13:2,12 “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth
the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it
is mine… Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for
the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle:
whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to
the Lord.”

Thus,
the statement that Jesus was the “first-born son” of Mary
(Luke 2:7) does not in any way contradict Mary’s perpetual
virginity. It simply means that He was her first and male child. It
says nothing about whether any came later.

WHAT ABOUT THE “BROTHERS” OF JESUS?

Non-Catholics
often bring up the passages which mention the “brothers and
sisters” of Jesus. First of all, it must be mentioned that
never once are these “brothers” described as the children
of Mary, Jesus’ mother.

Mark
6:3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of
James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters
here with us? And they were offended at him.”

Matthew
13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother
called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and
Judas?”

In
the original Greek the words used are adelphoi
(“brethren”) and adelphe
(“sisters”). The words adelphoi
and adelphe can refer
to actual siblings. However, the Bible also
uses these words to describe people who are not brothers, but cousins
or relatives or step brothers or close neighbors.

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT ABRAHAM WAS LOT’S BROTHER, BUT HE WASN’T LITERALLY

Lot
was Abraham’s nephew. Abraham was his uncle (see Genesis 11:31;
14:12). Yet, the Bible twice describes Lot as Abraham’s
“brother.” That’s because the word “brother”
doesn’t necessarily mean a sibling. As stated above, it can
mean a cousin or a relative or a step-brother or a close family
friend.

Genesis
14:14 “Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that
his brother Lot was taken...”

Lot was
Abraham’s nephew

The
Bible also calls him his “brother”

Gen.
11:27 “Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah
begat Abram, Nahor, and
Haran; and Haran
begat Lot.”

Gen.
12:5 “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and
Lot his brother’s son...”

Gen. 14:12 “And
they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s
son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods,
and departed.”

Gen.
14:14 “And when Abram heard that his
brother [Lot] was taken captive...”

Gen. 14:16 “And
also brought again his brother Lot...”

Some
Protestants attempt to respond to this by arguing that the Old
Testament was not written in Greek, but Hebrew. Therefore, they say,
the case of Lot doesn’t prove that adelphos
can refer to a person who is not literally a brother. This is refuted
by pointing out that while the Old Testament was originally written
in Hebrew, it was famously translated into Greek by seventy scholars
a few centuries before the coming of Christ. This famous translation
is called the Septuagint.

This
Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, is quoted
about 300 times by the inspired writers of the New Testament. That
means that the New Testament writers accepted the Septuagint. In
the Septuagint, the same Greek wordadelphosis used to describe Lot as Abraham’s
brother. Adelphos
is the singular form of adelphoi, the word used in the New Testament
for the “brothers” of Jesus. Therefore, the Old Testament
does use adelphos to
describe someone who is not literally a brother.

But
the point can also be proven from the New Testament. In
Acts 3:17 and Romans 9:3, we see thatadelphoi(brothers) is used to describe people of the
same nationality who are not siblings.
Consider these verses to be the death-blow to the Protestant argument
in this regard.

Moreover,
in Luke 10:29, Matthew 5:22 and Matthew 7:3, we see that adelphos
(“brother”) is used for neighbor, not necessarily
sibling.

BUT THERE IS A GREEK WORD FOR COUSIN, ANEPSIOS; IF THE BRETHREN OF JESUS WERE COUSINS, RATHER THAN BROTHERS, WHY WASN’T ANEPSIOS USED?

The
Catholic Church teaches that Mary is ever-virgin and had no other
children. The Catholic Church does not teach that all the “brethren”
of Jesus were necessarily His cousins. They may have been extended
relatives or close friends or people considered part of the family by
marriage or law or homeland. For instance, in 2 Samuel 1:26, King
David calls Jonathan his “brother.” Jonathan and David
were not brothers or cousins. David had married Jonathan’s
sister, Michal, the daughter of King Saul. So David married into the
family.

The
number of Jesus’ “brothers” (adelphoi)
mentioned in the Bible seems to suggest that some of them were not
even extended relatives, but considered part of the family in other
ways. If even one or a few of them were not cousins, but more
extended relatives or neighbors or close family friends, then the
word adelphoi would
have been used. Therefore, the fact that the
word for cousin was not used does not in any way prove that Mary had
other children.

EVIDENCE FROM MATTHEW 27:56 SHOWS THAT THE “BROTHERS” OF JESUS WERE NOT HIS SIBLINGS

Matthew
13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother
called Mary? And his brethren, James, and
Joses, and Simon, and Judas?”

James
and Joses are two of the names given as “brothers” of
Jesus. It can be shown, by the following points, that these were
children of another woman and not siblings of Jesus. Please follow
this carefully.

There
were three women at the foot of the Cross: 1) the Blessed Virgin Mary
(the mother of Jesus); 2) Mary the wife of Cleophas (who is said to
be the Blessed Virgin Mary’s sister); and 3) Mary Magdalene.

John
19:25 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus [1] his mother,
and [2] his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and [3]
Mary Magdalene.”

Mary,
the wife of Cleophas, is also described as “the other Mary”
in Matthew 28:1. The Bible tells us that James and Joses are the
children of this Mary:

Matthew
27:56 “Among which was Mary Magdalene, and
Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the
mother of Zebedees children.”

Thus,
James and Joses (who are called the “brothers” of Jesus)
are not His siblings, but at least His cousins. However, they are
probably not even first cousins. This is because Mary of Cleophas
(the mother of James and Joses), who is said to be the “sister”
of Jesus’ mother (John 19:25), is also named Mary. It’s
extremely unlikely that two siblings in a Hebrew family would be
given the same name. Most likely they were not sisters, but members
of the same clan who were called “sisters” in the same
way that James, Joses, Simon and Judas were called “brothers”
of Jesus. All of this shows that none of the statements in the Bible
about the brothers and sisters of Jesus disproves, in any way, the
perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now we must look at
the proof that Mary had no other children and that she was
perpetually a virgin.

JOHN 19:26 PROVES THAT MARY HAD NO CHILDREN BESIDES JESUS

While
dying on the Cross, Jesus entrusts His mother to the care of St. John
the Apostle.

John
19:26-27 “When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the
disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman,
behold thy son. After that, he
saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. Andfrom that hour, the disciple [John] took
her to his own.”

Scholars
point out that this was a formal act of entrustment. (Gerry Matatics,
Op. cit.) Jesus
entrusted His mother to St. John so that he would take care of her.
If Mary had other children, as Protestants contend, Jesus would not
have told St. John to take Mary for his mother. She would have been
put into the care of one of his many “brothers.” The fact
that Jesus entrusted Mary to St. John proves that she had no other
children.

Protestants
try to respond to this by arguing that Jesus’ “brothers”
were not believers and that’s why Jesus entrusted her to St.
John. However, that’s refuted by Acts 1:14. It indicates that
Jesus’ “brothers” were believers. Jesus certainly
knew that they were or would become believers and hence He would not
have entrusted her to St. John if they were His siblings.

It’s
also quite significant that when Jesus was found in the temple at 12
years old, there is no indication whatsoever that Mary and Joseph had
other children
(Luke 2:41-51). The indication is that He is an only child. He is
also referred to as “the son of Mary” (Mark 6:3), not as
a son of Mary. Never once is Mary said to have had other children.

MARY’S RESPONSE TO THE ANGEL IN LUKE 1 INDICATES THAT SHE HAD TAKEN A VOW OF PERPETUAL VIRGINITY

Luke
1:30-34 “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou
hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou
shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not man?”

The
angel appears to Mary and tells her that she will conceive and bring
forth a son. Mary responds by saying: “How shall this be,
seeing I know not man?” The actual meaning is: how
shall this be since I am a virgin. How shall
this be? Mary understood how children were conceived. Her response
only makes sense if she had taken a lifelong vow of virginity. She
was asking how she could conceive while a virgin.

It
should also be pointed out that Mary’s engagement to Joseph
doesn’t contradict the notion that she had taken such a vow.
Moral behavior at the time dictated that women committed to virginity
have a male protector who would guard and respect the vow. That was
Joseph’s role.

IT’S UNIMAGINABLE THAT THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT WOULD HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT

We’ve
already seen that the Bible clearly teaches that Mary is the Ark of
the New Covenant. As the holiest creature on Earth and the vessel of
the Most High, it’s totally incongruous – completely out
of keeping with the Ark’s dignity and role – to think
that she would have any sexual contact. To prepare the people for
God’s coming on Mt. Sinai, Moses said:

Exodus
19:14-15 “And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and
sanctified them. And when they had washed their garments, he said to
them: be ready against the third day, and come
not near your wives.”

When
David was on the run and needed bread from the priest, we read:

1
Samuel 21:4 “And the priest answered David, saying: I have no
common bread at hand, but only holy bread, if
the young men be clean, especially from women.”

The
Ark was created for a more sublime and sacred reason, and never would
have sexual contact. Oza was struck dead for merely touching the Ark
when he shouldn’t have done so (2 Samuel 6:6-8).

EZECHIEL 44 AND THE PROPHECY ABOUT THE CLOSED GATE IS A PROPHECY OF MARY’S PERPETUAL VIRGINITY

Ezechiel 44:2 “And the
Lord said to me: This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened,
and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel
hath entered in by it, and it shall be shut.”

Here
we see that the Lord shall pass through this gate, and no other man
shall pass through it. This is a prophecy about the perpetual
virginity of Mary. She is the closed gate, through whom the Lord
comes. That’s one reason why Mary has been called “the
Gate of Heaven” in traditional Catholic writings.

THE PERPETUAL VIRGINITY OF MARY WAS FIRMLY BELIEVED IN THE ANCIENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Second
Council of Constantinople, 553 A.D., Can. 6
“If anyone says that the holy, glorious, and
ever-virgin is called God-bearer by misuse of
language and not truly… let him be anathema.”

Some
Protestants and most members of the “Orthodox” Church
claim to honor the Second Council of Constantinople. It was the fifth
ecumenical council. As we see here, it clearly taught Mary’s
perpetual virginity.

Pope
St. Martin I, Lateran Council,
649 A.D., Can. 3 “If anyone does not properly and truly confess
in accord with the holy Fathers, that the holy Mother of God and
ever Virgin and immaculate Mary in the
earliest of the ages conceived of the Holy Spirit without seed,
namely, God the Word Himself specifically and truly, who was born of
God the Father before all ages, and that she incorruptibly bore
[Him], her virginity remaining indestructible
even after His birth, let him be condemned.”
(Denzinger 256)

The
ancient Christian Church believed that Mary was perpetually a virgin.
In the fourth century, St. Jerome, the father of biblical scholarship
and the one who translated the Bible into Latin, defended this truth
against Helveticus, a heretic who denied it. As mentioned already,
even the first Protestants, including Luther, Calvin and Zwingli,
accepted the perpetual virginity of Mary.

THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE FOR MARY’S BODILY ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN AND HER QUEENSHIP IN HEAVEN

The
Catholic Church teaches that, after her course of life on Earth, the
Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven. Her body
did not remain in the grave and suffer corruption of the flesh; for
this is a punishment for original sin, which she did not have. Since
she was free from all original sin and was the privileged Ark, Mary's
soul was taken directly to Heaven, and her body some days after.
That’s called the dogma of Mary’s Bodily Assumption.

Non-Catholics
claim there is no evidence in the Bible for the Assumption of Mary.
On the contrary, we find a description of it in Revelation/Apocalypse
chapter 12:

Revelation
12:1 “And there appeared a great
wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her head
a crown of twelve stars.”

The
woman in Revelation 12:1 signifies a number of things. The fathers of
the Church understood it to signify the Mother of Jesus; they also
understood it to signify, on a certain level, the Church. There is no
doubt that it signifies Mary, for the Son of this woman is the one
who rules all nations with an iron rod (Rev. 12:5). That’s
Jesus, of course; and thus the mother must be the Virgin Mary.
Therefore, Revelation chapter 12 provides us with a clear picture of
Mary assumed into Heaven and placed as Queen of Heaven.

The
Bible also gives us a glimpse of the Assumption of Mary in Psalm
132:8 (Psalm 131:8 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible).

This
interesting psalm speaks of the Lord and the Ark arising or being
carried to a permanent resting place. This is an image of the
Assumption; for Jesus is the Lord and Mary is the new Ark, as we’ve
shown. Both of them are taken to Heaven, body and soul. Jesus ascends
on His own; Mary is assumed by Jesus.

If
the Ark of the Old Covenant is spoken of as being carried off to a
resting place, how much more the Ark of the new and eternal covenant?
We also see that the Ark is spoken of as sanctified.

THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY INTO HEAVEN FLOWS LOGICALLY FROM HER PRESERVATION FROM SIN

The
bodily Assumption of Mary flows logically from her preservation from
all original and actual sin. The corruption of the flesh in the grave
is a consequence of original sin (Genesis 3:19). Most Protestants
would agree on this point. As the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary did
not have original sin. As a result, she was free from its
consequences. It follows from this that God did not let her body see
corruption.

This
psalm, which speaks of God not allowing His holy one to see
corruption, is quoted in the New Testament in Acts chapter 2. It
refers to Jesus.

Acts
2:31 “Foreseeing this, he spoke of the
resurrection of Christ. For
neither was he left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption.”

Likewise,
because Mary was created free from all sin, she did not suffer any
corruption of the flesh in the grave and was assumed body and soul
into Heaven.

THE ARK WAS MADE OF INCORRUPTIBLE WOOD

The
Ark of the Old Covenant was made of setim (or shittim) wood, an
incorruptible acacia.

Exodus
25:10 “Frame an ark of setim wood…”

Setim
wood is so extremely durable that the Septuagint, the Greek version
of the Old Testament, actually translates this word as
“incorruptible” or “nondecaying”
wood. If the Ark of the Old Covenant was
incorruptible, how much more must the Ark of the New Covenant be
incorruptible. God specifically prescribed incorruptible wood for the
construction of the Ark because it served as a prefigurement of the
incorruptible body and soul of the new Ark, the Blessed Virgin.

MARY’S BODILY ASSUMPTION DOES NOT CONTRADICT BIBLICAL REALITIES

Some
people consider it fanciful that Mary could have been miraculously
assumed into Heaven, body and soul. However, the Bible tells us that
Elijah was miraculously carried away to Heaven (2 Kings 2:1, 11). We
also read that Enoch was miraculously carried away to walk with God
(Heb. 11:5; Gen. 5:24). It’s also clearly taught in the Bible –
and is an article of the ancient Christian faith – that all
men, whether good or evil, shall be miraculously reunited with their
bodies at the final judgment, for the resurrection of the just and
the reprobate (1 Cor. 15). Thus, it’s not in any way contrary
to biblical realities – but rather corresponds precisely to
them – to believe that Mary was assumed into Heaven because she
was God’s perfect Ark and without sin.

THE BIBLE INDICATES THAT MARY IS THE “QUEEN MOTHER” IN THE KINGDOM OF JESUS

God
established a covenant with David in order to establish a Kingdom.
The Davidic Monarchy, the Kingdom of God on Earth, was meant to be a
prototype of the spiritual Kingdom of God which Jesus Christ would
establish. That’s why Jesus is called the son of David in the
Gospels. It’s why Peter himself says in Acts 2:30 that Jesus
sits upon David’s throne. Luke 1:32 says the following of
Jesus:

“He
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father…”

In
the Hebrew monarchy, the most powerful,
honored and important woman in the Kingdom was the mother of the
King. She was known as “the Queen Mother.”
In Hebrew, she was called “the Gebirah.” The Gebirah, the
Queen Mother of the Kingdom, possessed a unique power of influence
with the King. Her influence, power and prestige surpassed that of
the King’s wife. We clearly see the unique influence and power
of the “Queen Mother” in 1 Kings 1 and 2 (3 Kings 1 and 2
in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible).

King
Solomon’s mother was Bathsheba. Bathsheba’s power and
influence as Queen Mother was so great that Adonias (or Adonijah)
said this to her:

1
Kings 2:17 “And he (Adonias) said: I
pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing)
to give me Abisag the Sunamitess to wife.”

Adonias
understood the position and the power of the Queen Mother. However,
the request that Adonias made was unreasonable. Adonias wanted to
marry Abisag, who was King David’s last wife. By taking her to
wife, Adonias could have made a claim on Solomon’s throne. This
is why the King could not have granted his request.

Even
though Adonias’ request was unreasonable and would never have
been granted by the King, this shows us that it was recognized that
the Queen Mother had a unique and profound power of influence with
the King. This influence was so great that Adonias said: “he
cannot deny thee anything.”

The
next few verses shed even more light on this truth. In 1 Kings 2:19,
we read that Bathsheba (the Queen Mother) went in to speak to King
Solomon to ask of him the favor. When she entered, the
King bowed himself to her and caused a throne to be set up for her
next to him.

THE BIBLE SHOWS US THAT THE QUEEN MOTHER HAD A THRONE AND UNIQUE HONOR

1 Kings 2:19-20 “Then
Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and
the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his
throne: and a throne was set for the king’s mother, and she sat
on his right hand. And she said to him: I desire one small
petition of thee, do not put me to confusion. And the king said to
her: My mother, ask: for I must not turn away thy face.”

As
we can see, the Bible teaches that the Queen Mother is honored on a
throne with the King. She is not equal to the King, of course; but
she is honored along with him as the Queen of the Kingdom. Here we
see a perfect description of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and of her influence with the King. She is the Queen Mother in the
Kingdom of Jesus. Mary is infinitely inferior to her Divine Son.
However, she is the perfect Ark, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

This
is why Mary has such a power in Heaven under her Divine Son – a
power and influence that is greater than what the Queen Mother of the
Old Testament had over the King. It’s why it’s so
effective to ask favors of her, so that she can ask them of Jesus.
She is placed, in the Kingdom of Jesus, beside Him as the Queen of
Heaven and Earth.

In
Psalm 45 (Psalm 44 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible), we also see a
reference to God’s throne and the Queen with Him:

Psalms
45:6,9 “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of
equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom… The
queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded
clothing…”

ARE THE HAIL MARY AND THE ROSARY VAIN REPETITIONS CONDEMNED BY JESUS?

Some
non-Catholics claim that Catholic prayers such as the Hail Mary and
the Rosary fall under the denunciation of Jesus.

Matthew
6:7-8 “But when ye pray, use not vain
repetitions, as the heathen do: for they
think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye
therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have
need of, before ye ask him.”

Like
the other objections we’ve covered, this objection is also
disproven by a deeper consideration of the Bible. Probably the best
example to refute the Protestant objection on this point is
Revelation (Apocalypse) 4:8.

Revelation
4:8 “And the four living creatures had each of them six wings;
and round about and within they are full of eyes. And
they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy,Lord God Almighty, who
was, and who is, and who is to come.”

The
angels in Heaven say over and over again, day and night, “Holy,
holy, holy.” So much for the idea that all prayers which
contain repetitions are “pagan.” The assertion couldn’t
be more wrong.

In
Matthew 6:7, Jesus is not condemning prayers which contain words that
are repeated; nor is He condemning multiple repetitions of the same
prayer (e.g., saying the Our Father or the Hail Mary five times in a
row). No, He is denouncing the practices of the pagans. The pagans
thought that they could please their false gods by their eloquence
and elaborate speeches. They thought that they had to say precisely
the correct things and words and names on certain days, lest their
false “gods” would not hear them or remember their needs.
Jesus is denouncing their paganism. He is teaching that the true God
knows all things.

There
are other points which obliterate the Protestant objection on this
matter. In Psalm 136 (Psalm 135 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible),
we are given a prayer of praise and thanksgiving which repeats the
same phrase – “for his mercy endures forever” –
a grand total of 26 times in a row!

Psalms
136:1-26 “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for
his mercy endureth for ever. O give
thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy
endureth for ever… To him who
alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy
endureth for ever… [etc.]”

Jesus
repeats the same prayer three times in a row, when praying to His
Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. That can be read in Matthew
26:39, Matthew 26:42, and Matthew 26:44. In Matthew 20:29-33, Jesus
responds to the repeated prayer of the blind men to have mercy on
them.

As
we can see, the Bible contains many examples where prayers to the
true God are repeated. They do not constitute “vain
repetitions” of pagans. In fact, the Catholic Church’s
prayers to Mary in the Hail Mary and the Rosary are predicted by Mary
herself in Luke 1:

The
Hail Mary prayer: “Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with
thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at
the hour of our death. Amen.”

The
Catholic Church honors and spreads devotion to the immaculate heart
of Mary. She had the most pure heart of any human being that ever
lived. Just like the Ark of the Old Covenant, the devotion to Mary’s
immaculate heart is powerful with God. Some non-Catholics condemn
this devotion as unbiblical. On the contrary, only the heart of Mary
is specifically mentioned in the New Testament. The heart of no other
good or holy person receives the kind of attention that is given to
Mary’s heart in the Gospel. Her heart was unique among human
beings because it was never defiled by sin.

Luke
2:18-19 “And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds. But
Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

Luke
2:51 “And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was
subject unto them: but his mother kept all
these sayings in her heart.”

Mary’s
unique soul also receives a special mention in Scripture.

Luke
2:35 “(Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many
hearts may be revealed.”

MARY IS THE MOTHER OF GOD

It’s
surprising that so many non-Catholics have trouble with the title
“Mary, mother of God.” They admit that Mary is the mother
of Jesus, but argue that she is not to be considered “mother of
God.” Protestants who hold that Mary is not the mother of God
don’t seem to realize that it’s not logically consistent
to believe that Jesus is God, but to deny that Mary is the mother of
God. Such a position actually denies the divinity of Jesus Christ,
who is one divine person
with two natures.

Fact:
Jesus Christ is God.
The Bible teaches it in many places (John 1:1; John 20:28; John 8:58;
Isaias 9:6; etc.)

Fact:
Mary is the mother of Jesus.
The Bible teaches it in many places (Luke 1:31; Mt. 1:25; etc.)

Undeniable
conclusion: Mary is the mother of God.

Luke
1:31-32 “And, behold, thou [Mary] shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.”

Isaias
7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].”

The
Bible indicates that Mary is the mother of Immanuel (which means “God
with us”).

Luke
1:43 “[Elizabeth said]: And how does this happen to me, that
themother of my
Lordshould come
to me?”

Elizabeth
also explicitly says that Mary is the mother of the Lord. That is the
one Lord Jesus Christ, who is God.

That
should be simple enough. Unfortunately, it isn’t sufficient for
some people. The Protestant error on this point needs to be more
completely addressed and refuted.

Protestants
point out that the divine nature of God is eternal and without
beginning. That’s certainly true. Since
the nature of God is eternal and it certainly did not come from Mary,
they argue, Mary cannot be said to be “mother” of God.
This is the main argument that Protestants make on this point. It is
a very flawed argument.

The
Protestant error on this point stems from attributing to the person
of the Son of God only that which belongs to
His divine nature. It is to fail to attribute
to the person of the Son of God also that which belongs or pertains
to His human nature.

Since
the Son of God has truly become man, by failing to attribute to Him
also that which belongs to His human nature, they actually deny that
Jesus Christ is at the same time true God and true man.

The
Son of God, Jesus Christ, is one divine person (the second person of
the Holy Trinity) with two natures. He is both true God and true man.
Jesus Christ is not a
man who was united with or inspired by God. No, He is true God who
truly became man.

John
1:14 “And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us…”

Jesus
was not just a special human who had a unique inspiration and
connection to the Word of God (the Son of God). No, He is the
Word of God made flesh. Therefore, to
attribute to the Son of God only that which specifically belongs to
His divine nature, and not also that which applies to His assumed
human nature – as the Protestants do when they deny that Mary
is the mother of God – is to divide
Jesus into two different people.

In
the 5th century
there was a certain heretic named Nestorius. He argued like
Protestants of our day on this matter. He held that Mary was not to
be called Theotokos
(mother/bearer of God), but only Christotokos
(bearer of Christ). The Church immediately recognized the heresy of
Nestorius and condemned it in 431 at the Council of Ephesus.
Nestorius’ false view was recognized by the Church to be the
heresy which the Bible condemned as the “dissolving” of
Jesus and “antichrist.” This false idea “dissolves”
Christ by separating from His one person that which pertains to His
human nature. It results in the division of
Jesus into two people, and the position that Jesus was just a man who
carried (or was inspired by) the person of God, rather than a divine
person who truly became man. This heresy
results in the worship of a man and the worship of two sons. The
Church clearly saw this for what it was and condemned it.

Second
Council of Constantinople, 553 “The
holy synod of Ephesus… has pronounced sentence against the
heresy of Nestorius… and all those who
might later… adopt the same opinions as he held… They
express these falsehoods against the true dogmas of the Church,
OFFERING WORSHIP TO TWO SONS,
trying to divide that which cannot be divided, AND
INTRODUCING TO BOTH HEAVEN AND EARTH THE OFFENCE OF THE WORSHIP OF
MAN. But the sacred band of heavenly
spirits worship along with us only one
Lord Jesus Christ.”

Council
of Ephesus, 431, Can. 5: “If anyone
dares to say that Christ was a God-bearing man and not rather God in
truth, being by nature one Son, even as “the
Word became flesh”, and is made partaker of blood and flesh
precisely like us, let him be anathema.”

Jesus
is not two different people. He is ONE DIVINE PERSON with two
natures. Therefore, that which happens to His
human nature truly happens to His one person.
His person was conceived and born in His humanity from Mary. She is
therefore truly His mother, and the mother of God.

The
meaning entailed in this truth is staggering. As the Church has
always taught, the Son of God, eternal and equal to the Father, had
two births. He was born before time, and from all eternity, from God
the Father (John 16:28; John 8:42.). He was born in time, as man,
from Mary, His mother. Only Mary possesses this inscrutable
connection to God, to a person of the Trinity. It is from this truth,
that she is truly Mother of God, that all of her other unique
prerogatives and privileges come.

CONCLUSION ABOUT BIBLICAL TEACHING ON MARY

These
are the biblical reasons why the Catholic Church has always
recognized the importance and the necessity of devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the new Eve, the new Ark, the pure
vessel, the sealed gate, and the Mother of God. To fail to have
devotion to her is equivalent to a man in the Old Testament who would
refuse to venerate the Ark of the Covenant or would refuse to march
behind it to a battle. Such a man would fall prey to the enemies of
God and would be separated from the camp of God’s people.

1
Samuel 4:22 “... The glory is departed from Israel, because the
ark of God was taken.”

1
Samuel 4:22 “... The glory is departed from Israel, because the
ark of God was taken.”

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